A founding member of Mephisto Odyssey (one of the first American Electronic Dance Music acts to sign to Warner Brothers), Mikael Johnston has gone on to writing, production, engineering and remix work with bands such as Jane’s Addiction, Static-X and Soul Coughing. In 2008, he teamed up with Dave Dresden to form the writing and production team of Dresden & Johnston to record the Billboard Top Ten Dance hit ‘Keep Faith’ and has recently completed a mix for Blondie at the request of the bands producer, Jeff Saltzman.
Common to almost all stages of his career has been his use of API gear – most recently the upgrade of his studio with an API 1608 small-format analogue console.
Johnston was first introduced to the API sound while working with other Warner Brothers acts that wanted to experiment with electronics: ‘We used API gear for the Jane’s Addiction remixes for the ‘So What!’ maxi single. Shortly thereafter, I co-wrote ‘Crash’ with Static-X and I realised it was time to step up my game. Several friends suggested an API lunchbox was the way to go…’
Johnston then filled out his lunchbox with API mic preamps, compressors and EQs, and later added an API 3124 four-channel mic preamp.
Realising that studio time is expensive and that it would be more cost-effective to work in-house, he began to upgrade his own studio: ‘It’s one thing to book studio time if you’re focused solely on being an artist, but I have a decade of experience as an engineer, remixer and producer,’ he says. ‘I decided I wanted to equip my new studio with a first-rate analogue console so that I could take on both roles at the highest level. It’s no secret that I believe a hybrid mix is far superior to an in-the-box mix, and for my taste the more high-end analogue gear that’s involved, the better.
‘While deciding on a console I took several factors into consideration, namely the history of the manufacturer and their longevity in the business, as well as their reputation. I also decided I didn’t want a vintage console because they’re a hassle to maintain. So that left me with a short list of credible names that have been in the industry for decades and also make new high-end, small-format, discrete analogue consoles. The API 1608 seemed to be the only one that was purely discrete analogue circuitry without a lot of extraneous, potentially problematic, and eventually obsolete, computer integration. Therefore between the console topography and the API 500 series format becoming an industry leader, it was a no brainer for me.’
In addition to his work with Blondie, Johnston is also working on a short film mix in 5.1 for Academy Award-winning visual effects artist Aidan Fraser (Pirates of the Caribbean 2, King Kong, ParaNorman); mixing hip hop artists Oh No, Declaime and Georgia Anne Muldrow (from the Stones Throw label) for producer Chris Keys; and ending the year producing an album for up-and-coming Danish Act Sleep Party People with Jeff Saltzman. All these projects will involve Johnston’s API 1608 console.
‘If things continue like this, I’m looking forward to expanding my API 1608 out to 32 channels,’ he says. ‘I couldn’t be happier.’
